Clean air plan for Bristol

Last month, Cabinet approved the Outline Business Case (OBC) for plans to improve air quality in the city in order to meet targets for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) legal limits.

The Outline Business Case (OBC), which has now been submitted to Government, recommends Bristol becomes the first city in the UK to take the bold step of introducing a diesel ban for private cars in the city centre and harbourside area which would operate daily from 7am to 3pm.

There would also be a wider Clean Air Zone (CAZ) where non-compliant commercial vehicles such as buses, taxis, HGVs and LGVs would be charged. A car scrappage scheme would also be launched. Further information can be found at cleanairforbristol.org. Drivers and operators that have Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol standard and above, would not be charged to enter the Clean Air Zone. Any non-compliant taxis would be liable for the £9 daily charge to enter the zone.

Taxis are not affected by the proposed diesel ban area. They will be able to operate as usual within the proposed zone. Read more about the plans on the Mayor of Bristol’s blog (https://thebristolmayor.com/2019/11/04/our-journey-to-clean-air), which includes an update from Cllr Ruth Pickersgill, Chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee, about the Taxi Conference (https://thebristolmayor.com/2019/11/01/taxi-conference-2019).

Source: Bristol City Council (Hackney Vehicle and Private Hire Vehicle newsletter – 7th edition)